Chapter 45

Chapter 45: The Family’s Condition #1

Tae-hyuk took out the Demon Revealing Mirror in front of Big Mama’s pawn shop .

He felt tense whenever he had to meet her . Tae-hyuk checked his abilities every time he came here . He needed to know what he could do, and where it was possible . That way, he would have confidence while dealing with Big Mama .

After the Rosario incident, their relationship had become a type of partnership . However, he always had to be ready for any type of deception coming his way .

‘Then first, the crime skills…’

He tapped on the Demon Revealing Mirror and pulled up his current learned crime skills . Robbery, Spying, Voice Modulation, Forgery, Gambling, and Violence – all of these made up for a total of six skills . He also had 10 affinity points that could be used to strengthen those skills . Every one of them had a type of charm .

‘I’d like to raise them but I’ll save them, since I don’t know what I will need . ’

Next, he confirmed his stats .

Stats: Stamina (59), Intelligence (47), Agility (24), Dexterity (39)

Tae-hyuk had used the Forgery skill quite a lot during the Hippo case . He also consumed an affinity point for a temporary special ability . His dexterity had gone up by five points . Three of his stats were close to the condition necessary for the upgrade . In the near future, he would be able to reach the second rank ‘Noble . ’ As a Commoner, there were a lot of restraints on his abilities, so he wanted to reach the next rank sooner .

‘It is difficult with the abilities I currently possess’

Last night, Tae-hyuk had fought against the Hippo, and had to mobilize everything he had in order to win . The Hippo was a crazy guy, but just based on strength, he wasn’t the strongest on the blacklist .

Among the criminals he would meet in the future, there were those with superhuman abilities, or those who used bombs to kill hundreds of people . In addition, a pseudo-cult with thousands of followers .

Tae-hyuk would soon meet them . Prior to that, he should at least upgrade to the Noble rank .

‘I don’t know how much stronger a Noble is, but it should still be better than my current rank . ’

Currently, he had met six people on the blacklist . Oddly, the counter raised, despite not causing Moonlight Flower and Big Mama to be arrested .

In the case of the Moonlight Flower, he caught Kim Sang-hyun . And after receiving Rosario from Big Mama, a notification had popped up on the Demon Revealing Mirror . It seemed like catching them wasn’t the only condition .

‘Anyway, there are 14 people left!’

To do that, he needed to maintain his close relationship with Big Mama . Anyway, the important thing was to find out about Park Jung-hwan’s death . Big Mama raised dozens of snakes in her belly . It was dangerous to believe everything she said .

“… Anyway, today I should clearly find out . ”

Tae-hyuk firmly opened the door of the pawn shop .

“Omo . It is Tae-hyuk . Did you come for the part time job?”

Big Mama looked up and asked . Tae-hyuk’s mouth twitched .

‘Saying this after making such a bombshell announcement… Ohh . Indeed, a scary woman!’

“Let’s continue the conversation from yesterday . I want you to give me the proper information about Park Jung-hwan . ”

It was reasonable to ask after paying the information fee .

“Ohoho . Of course I’ve prepared it . ”

Big Mama went into a room in her store and came out with a paper envelope .

“Read it . ”

Tae-hyuk accepted it and confirmed the contents . It contained everything about Park Jung-hwan: Where he was born, what school he went to, his school marks, the names of his close friends, and even the university clubs that he joined . It was miraculous how Big Mama managed to investigate so much .

“It is a bit later than promised . I’m sorry so I arranged the important parts as a special service . Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes . ”

“Park Jung-hwan is a native of Gangwon-do . A so-called self made person . As you can see from the materials I prepared, he studied well and exercised hard . He was popular due to his bright personality . This style is called…”

“Mother’s friend’s son?” (Wiki link explanation)

“Yes . He is literally the perfect image of that type . However, Park Jung-hwan had one unusual characteristic . Listen to this . ”

Inside the envelope was a tape recorder . Tae-hyuk put the earphone into his ear and pressed the switch . Then he heard a conversation over a lot of noise . It was a conversation between a man with a deep voice and a middle-aged person .

-Can you tell me more about the habit of Park Jung-hwan that you mentioned before?

-…Yes . Jung-hwan has a habit . It can be called a type of tick? The sides of his mouth twitches when talking… Strangely, the habit doesn’t happen on test days or election days . Then the next day, it will occur several times in one minute…

Big Mama said .

“Listen to the next track . ”

Tae-hyuk manipulated the tape recorder and fast forwarded through the conversation . This time, it was a conversation between the man with the deep voice and an elderly person .

–What do you mean, Park Jung-hwan often forgets things?

–So… He is very good at what he does . But after a few days, when I asked him about it again, he completely forgot what happened . He is already forgetful at such a young age . Ah, but his brain is truly great . He never missed being on top at school .

Tae-hyuk looked at Big Mama after listening .

“Those are interviews about Park Jung-hwan . ”

“Yes . All of them have known him since high school . I became aware of a shocking fact . That is… Do I need to say it?”

“Two years ago, Park Jung-hwan died . ”

“Yes . I learned of this fact by chance . ”

“What exactly happened?”

Big Mama laughed and raised a finger .

“Tae-hyuk . Sorry, but the investigation is up to here . That was exactly 10 million won . If you want to know more, you have to pay extra . ”

Tae-hyuk’s eyes twitched . He had to pay more money if he wanted to know? This wasn’t a three part porn ad, it was too much . Unfortunately, Tae-hyuk needed to know .

“… So how much more do I need to pay?”

“This is enough . ”

Big Mama emphasized the one finger that she had raised .

“Ten million won . Yes, I understand . ”

Tae-hyuk sighed .

He was glad that he had enough money saved . Although it was a large amount of money, Big Mama’s investigative abilities were worth it . In addition, the future report would certainly be beyond imagination .

“You set the limit too low . It is 100 million . ”

“Huh? 100 million?”

“Think of it as the information having that much value . Right?”

Tae-hyuk narrowed his eyes .

Big Mama had really great insight . The information about Park Jung-hwan had to be obtained, even if he needed to pay a lot of money .

“I’m sorry, but I’ve spent the 100 million I received with Rosario . ”

“Hoh . But you made some money from SY . ”

Big Mama knew about it . However, he couldn’t do that . It was the money for Ha-ran . He couldn’t touch it .

“You will have to wait a bit for the money . ”

Big Mama said with a soft smile .

“If I don’t receive the money, then there is no investigation . You should be aware of that . ”

‘That old lioness… !’

Tae-hyuk’s expression distorted .

No matter what, he needed the information about Park Jung-hwan . However, she might not give all the remaining information even after receiving 100 million . Unlike the Rosario incident, this time Tae-hyuk was caught on Big Mama’s rod .

Thus, Tae-hyuk decided to use a trump card .

“… By the way, let me ask you one thing . Is there any counterfeit artwork that you need?”

Big Mama nodded with a warm smile .

@

Kang-suk, who was sitting on the table, had a comfortable expression after a long time . Tae-hyuk asked from where he was sitting on the opposite side .

“It has been a long time since you came to dinner . Have you missed Noona?”

Kang-suk was startled and quickly replied .

“I came to see you!”

“Yes, yes . ”

Tae-hyuk nodded with a convinced expression .

“I was super busy with an awful case . Somehow it was solved . I have some time to rest . ”

“I don’t know what happened . Well, I’m glad that you did well . ”

“Yes . In fact, I didn’t do anything . It is a little awkward since it somehow became my achievement . Tomorrow, I will formally report to the higher ups . ”

Kang-suk’s expression was serious .

At that moment, Tae-hyuk felt a knot in his chest . It was a serial murderer case with two bodies and one victim . Solving it would be a big achievement for a detective . However, Kang-suk was trying to kick it away with his own feet .

‘Ah, that person! It is the dinner I worked hard to prepare for him . Why is he going to spit it out! He is so upright that he is damaging himself!’

Kang-suk was truly a very nice person . However, such a person would only receive loss in the world . It seemed like Tae-hyuk would have to do some work behind Kang-suk .

Tae-hyuk spoke cautiously so that he wouldn’t be heard by Ha-ran who was cooking in the kitchen .

“At any rate, is now the time? When are you going to ask for a date?”

“D-D-Date! C-Cough! We are just going to play…”

Tae-hyuk sighed . It seemed like he wouldn’t be able to ask for a date until he was an old man . In the end, Tae-hyuk acted .

“Noona! Kang-suk hyung wants you to hang out with him this weekend!”

“Ya, ya, hey!”

Kang-suk was embarrassed but Ha-ran looked at him with an expression of astonishment . Then she looked at Kang-suk like she was waiting for something . In the end, Kang-suk surrendered and asked Ha-ran to go out .

“Uh, ugh… That’s correct . Ha-ran . Do you have time to go somewhere with me this weekend?”

Ha-ran clapped with pleasure .

“Wah…! Hang out together? Then I’ll prepare a lunch box!”

Tae-hyuk sighed as he glanced at Ha-ran and Kang-suk .

It was their first date since first meeting each other three months ago . How long would it take for them to become a couple?

Maybe he should help them a little bit .

@

The Hippo incident passed in a flash .

Tae-hyuk lay down on his desk in the classroom and groaned .

“… I need to make some money . I also need to support Kang-suk hyung . Ohh . Should I just skip school?”

An Eun-young heard Tae-hyuk’s complaints from her seat next to him .

“T-Tae-hyuk… You can’t skip school . Go home after school finishes . ”

“Ugh . Did you hear?”

An Eun-young said with a serious voice .

“Next week is the final exams . Have you prepared well?”

“……”

Tae-hyuk stared dumbly .

Recently, he had been so busy that he didn’t care about studying . The proof was that his intelligence stat hadn’t risen .

“I guess not . You did seem strangely busy… If you take the test properly, didn’t you say that you would be first in the school?”

“Hahaha…”

“Well, I can give you special lessons again this time…”

An Eun-young was strangely hesitant .

It seemed like there was something she wanted to say .

“Is there something?”

“Ah, no . Let’s study together like last time . Will you come to my house this weekend?”

Tae-hyuk realized that An Eun-young was asking for help .

“Eun-young . Is something going on? If you don’t mind then I am willing to listen to your story . ”

An Eun-young looked at Tae-hyuk with deeply touched eyes . Then she slowly explained the situation .

“T-Tae-hyuk… That… You know…”

An Eun-young had an older sister .

However, she recently got involved in a multi-level scheme and ran away from home .

Tae-hyuk was troubled after hearing the story . His head was about to burst just from his own matters . But now he needed to help An Eun-young’s family matters as well? What benefits would there be?

“……”

Tae-hyuk bit his lip .

He realized that he always made calculations before moving . It was the same with Big Mama . When he used the crime skill, he had the mindset of a criminal .

He had received enormous help from An Eun-young . Thanks to her studying skill, he could tremendously increase his intelligence stat . He could finally become a model student .

An Eun-young was now asking for help . How could he refuse just because there were no benefits?

Tae-hyuk thought for a moment . He was currently ranked third . Until he went to university, he needed An Eun-young’s studying skill . If he helped her now then he could use her studying skills in the future . He was moving for An Eun-young’s studying skill .

Tae-hyuk came to this conclusion and said to An Eun-young .

“If you don’t mind then I will help you . Let’s talk about the details in your room . ”

“Uh, yes… T-Thank you, Tae-hyuk . ”

An Eun-young was sincerely thankful . At that moment, Tae-hyuk felt something like a needle stabbing into his chest .

‘Then there are three things that need to be solved . I’ll be quite busy in the future . ’

Tae-hyuk quietly looked at An Eun-young’s face . He was really glad to see her smiling expression .